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Smile now, Cry later!

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The phrase "Smile now, cry later" refers to a kind of street philosophy that speaks to the underlying idea that a gangbanger should enjoy the gangster lifestyle of women, drugs, money, and power now, while he can, because the other shoe will drop soon enough and it will be time to cry in jail or in the grave. The theme is frequently depicted in gangster tattoos showing a laughing or smiling face juxtaposed against a second crying face.

The Church in the Hood

"Here (in Christ) there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian Scythian, slave or free (and we might add, no Latin Kings or Maniac Latin Disciples, no Vice Lords or Gangster Disciples, no Folks and no People), but Christ is all, and is in all."
~Colossians 3:11

Gangs Anonymous

Gangs Anonymous is a program run in conjunction with Crossfire that addresses the addiction of gang life through a unique recovery program. For further information contact the following:
Ron Gorny
Crossfire
Willow Creek Community Church - Chicago
773.294.8849
Charla Waxman
847.471.7950

Prison Prayer Partners

Prisoner Prayer Program is a program run in conjunction with Crossfire and the Willow Creek Prison Ministry that attempts to bring a personal touch to the lives of incarcerated inmates through prayer, correspondence, and visitation. For more information please contact:
Ron Gorny
Crossfire
773.294.8849 (cell)
Gaius Cosman
Willow Creek Prison Ministry

Mom 2 Mom

When a gang member is incarcerated, its often the mom and other family members that suffer the most. They remain in the hood and are subject to both opposition threats and neighborhood sneers. Mom 2 Mom is a program to provide the moms of gang members with the support and help they need. Its a program to help build respect and to develop potential in moms and their families, one mom to another. Holler at us if you are interested.

CHESS

CHESS (Chicago Entrepreneurial Skills School) is a program designed to help inmates develop skills that will help them start their own businesses once they are released from Jail. The program is patterned after the Prison Entrepreneurial Program (PEP) in Texas (go to: http://www.prisonentrepreneurship.org/). The idea is to create classes of individuals who are willing and able to learn and develop creative business opportunities. We expect to bring in experts in the business world to help hone the skill set of these men before they leave prison so they can get a running start on their own businesses. These experts would include university professors, local business leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts in the social graces. The idea would be to build into these individuals the ethics, skills, and graces that a good Christian Businessman would employ in their own business. Because this set of individuals will have a difficult time in the traditional job market, it is important to give them new sills that can be used in today's job market. CHESS wil provide them with skills that they can use to build their own legitimate businesses without having to rely on people who would view their arrest and incarceration records as a hiring deterrent. This is a still developing program so there are no current classes or meeting times, but if you are interested in this program, stay tuned for future developments. Feel free to contact me if you are interested or if you have friends who might be.

Book ’em

A very productive way to minister to guys and gals is by providing them with solid Christian books. Book 'em is an educational ministry aimed at getting books into the hands of prisoners so that they can read and come to have a better understanding of just who God is. If you have books that you would like to donate to Book 'em, please get in touch with Crossfire so we can arrange to have them processed. The books must be soft covers andcan not be leather bound. AND, if you have friends or relatives that you think could prosper from some good Christian books, please let us know. This ministry takes place primarily in Cook County Jail as some of the other facilities do not allow books at all. OK, let's Book 'em!

A Challenge

I’ll close with this; I know what I am proposing seems like a big vision, a lot to undertake, but when I started thinking about things in that way, I was reminded of the words quoted in John Ortberg’s book, If you want to Walk on Water, You have to get out of the Boat. Herein John quotes Henry Blackberry as saying:
“Some people say, “God will never ask me to do something I can’t do. I have come to the place in my life that, if the assignment I sense God is giving me is something that I know I can handle, this it probably is NOT from God. The kind of assignments God gives in the Bible are always God-sized. They are always beyond what people can do, because he wants to demonstrate his nature, his strength, his provision, and his kindness to his people and to a watching world. This is the only way the world will come to know him.
~Henry Blackberry) quoted by John Ortberg in the book If you want to walk on Water, you have to get out of the boat, p. 70)
That being said, we can thank God that the Holy Spirit is leading us in this adventure and not some human orchestrator. As always, I pray that I will remain,
In His Grip,
Ron

This is a great website for those who want to know more about the gang lifestyle and how to resist it as an individual and as a community. The site is based in the Washington DC/Virginia area but has links that are valuable to those confronted by the gang culture nationwide. For more information go to :

If you want to find out what Gangbangers are talking about, go to Hoodup.com and sign up for an account. Lots of bragging, history, and information (along with a fair amount of misinformation), but its interesting, to say the least. Caution: This site might be a little raw for some of you!

As many of you know, the first week in march is traditionally known among the Latin Kings as King Week. Its a time of celebrating the power, history, and lore of the ALKQN. As I was thinking about this and talking to people I know in the Kings, I was reminded that the real author of power, as well as of freedom and basic human rights, is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. It’s to him that ALL power is given, that ALL respect is due. That’s because he took “the great violation” for all gangbangers when he was nailed to the Cross. When gangbangers talk about power, that talk contains only a small hint of what real power is all about. Let me give you a description of what real power looks like. In two passages of the Bible we get a description of God handing over power to his Son Jesus Christ, the one who will return to collect his own and to judge the rest of the world.

In the Old Testament we find the Prophet Daniel giving us this description of power being handed to Christ (Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14):9″As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

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A similar portrayal of Christ is found in the New Testament (I Thessalonians 4: 16-17):

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

In both cases, we see Jesus as a coming king, the ruler of all things and the judge of all men. This is all made possible because Jesus was “violated,” not for what he did, but for what you did. Because he was blameless and took that “violation” for you, God has made him the sovereign king of all creation and the final judge of all men. It doesn’t matter if you are ALKQN, NAACP, WASP, all of us must answer to Christ for the life we lived and ultimately answer the question, “How did you respond to my Son’s invitation to open your heart to My eternal plan of forgiveness?” For those who can respond that they accepted the grace of God, repented of their sins, and followed Christ, there is eternal life with the one who saved us from our sins. If our trust is in the nacion, the country, the President, or some organization, then we will have failed to put our trust in the right place and the cost is eternal separation from God. So, my brothers and sisters in the nacion, please spend some time this week reflection on what the Word of God, the Bible, has to say about God, love, truth, and forgiveness. Kingism is one of many philosophies that try to address the issue of man’s relationship to God, but only the Bible has the full truth of God’s love and of the King of Kings, the one who gave himself to not only set us free from sin and its results, but to give us the abundant life that God always planned for us to enjoy. This is all summed up in four short words, TRUST IN THE CROSS.

The Ashland and Cortez Latin Kings were among the first gangbangers I worked with when I was at Teen Challenge back in the early 70s. It was through their President, Michael Perez that I was introduced to all the other sections of the Latin Kings. I’ve not seen any of them since 1973. I know that Lucky was killed, but do not know what happened to any of the others. If anyone know their whereabouts, please let me know. Also let me know if you can fill in any of the names and stories of other guys in the pictures whose names I’ve forgotten.